Prosecutors allege 'jealous infatuation' in trial of ex-police officer accused of double murder

A police officer, charged with the killing of Australian TV presenter Jesse Baird and his new partner Luke Davies, was driven by “jealous infatuation” with his ex, prosecutors told a court in Australia.

The prosecution, represented by advocate Brett Hatfield, alleged that Beau Lamarre-Condon, shot his 26-year-old ex-partner Baird, and the 29-year-old Qantas flight attendant at a home in Sydney in 2024.

The 31-year-old has pleaded not guilty to two charges of domestic violence-related murder and one of aggravated break and enter. He was accused of using a work-issued gun to shoot his ex-partner and Baird’s new partner Davies. He said he was acting in self-defence, the court heard.

The authorities launched a frantic search for the bodies of the couple after bloodied items were found in a bin in Sydney in February 2024. The bodies were subsequently found eight days later in a rural area 200km away, in a surfboard bag.

Mr Lamarre-Condon was sacked by the NSW police after he was charged with the murders.

In the trial, that is expected to go on for three months, the prosecution described Mr Lamarre-Condon’s “obsessive and jealous infatuation”. The prosecution said it manifested itself in a “range of compulsive behaviour”, escalating to Baird ending all contact in November 2023.

Mr Lamarre-Condon allegedly met Baird in late 2022 but the relationship ended in April 2023. It, however, resumed again in September of that year but things were called off after the TV presenter found that the police officer accessed his phone to delete messages and block people.

The prosecution alleged that on the day of the murder, the accused set up an alarm for 4.30am and sent a text to a friend saying, “I’ll try to call you tonight and update you ... there’s no sign I’m doing it”.

After that, he allegedly switched to a burner phone, rented a car, and waited outside his ex’s home disguised as an Uber Eats rider before entering through a key he “surreptitiously obtained”, said the prosecution.

He shot his ex-boyfriend twice in the kitchen, and then his partner Davies “to eliminate him as a witness”, the court was told.

Mr Lamarre-Condon was further accused of breaking into Baird’s home in August 2023, and stealing his phone and wallet.